


Expedition

by Daecus



Series: New Age [5]
Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen, New Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:52:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daecus/pseuds/Daecus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If anyone's wondering what Jetstream sounds like, from 1 to 10, 1 being Zane from Lego Ninjago and 10 being Fluttershy from MLP, Jetstream is a 3.5. :B<br/>Basically, the Wreckers, excluding Magnus, begin to respect Jetstream. 2 down, 6 more to go. Unless Ultra Magnus counts as 2, since he's such a stick in the mud.<br/>I don't think there're any spoilers, this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Expedition

        “You what?!” screamed a very livid Megatron. The non-Predacons had once again assembled in the energon storage room within the Nemesis for another group meeting concerning the Predacons.

        Megatron’s lead scientist, Shockwave, tried arguing his position. “I only awakened the Predacons in order to facilitate a response from the Autobots to destroy them. It wasn’t my intention-”

        “The intentions that led up to your mistake do not matter to me. It only matters that you fix it.”

        “Lord Megatron. With due respect, I would like to suggest an alternative course of action,” said Shockwave.

        “And what would that be?” Starscream questioned, enjoying the reprisal that Megatron was giving Shockwave.

        If Shockwave had possessed the ability to narrow his one eye, he would have. He had surmised that Starscream had engaged the plan to lead the Autobots into the incubation chamber without informing him so that he would get scrapped and Starscream could enjoy all the power himself.

        Shockwave decided to deal with ‘Scream’s treachery later. He stated, “My plan is to use the Predacons to our advantage. Luckily, the entire platoon did not survive, but we can use the survivors, which retain an approximate equivalence in power with the Predaking to perform the most dangerous of jobs.”

        “And how will you ensure that the beasts will not turn against us?” Starscream never failed to exploit every loophole possible just to make others seem incompetent in front of Megatron.

        “We must stall for time until I can engineer the right contagion to either extinguish or control them. Obviously, we must not openly display our intentions nor gain ill favor of the Predacons so as not to facilitate the rebellion we so dread should come to pass,” Shockwave reasoned. “The Predacons possess a strength never before recorded," Shockwave continued. "It will be practically impossible even for our enemies to eradicate them all. The firepower required would be substantial. I suggest that we use the Predacons as our main attack force in the meantime."

        "You said that you might be able to control them?” Megatron asked with a smile.

        "It will not be an easy task, but I am certain that I can do it," the scientist said with cold calculation. "Though, I am unsure how long it will take."

        "Why can't we just use the dark energon to control them?" Knockout asked.

        "Because you used the vast majority of it, and due to the number of awakened Predacons, there would not be enough to affect them all," Shockwave said pointedly. Knockout backed off in humiliation of his prior mistake, which unleashed a hoard of zombified Terrorcons within the Nemesis.

        "Then make haste. The beasts creep closer to rebellion with each passing light cycle," Megatron barked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Prime!" Agent Fowler's urgent voice rang out in the Autobot barracks from the communications array. "Just received word that the Predacons are attacking one of our chemical research plants. The situation's getting pretty nasty."

        "Understood. I will need everyone ready for this mission. We don't know what we're dealing with, so any assistance will be most welcome. I would like everyone to exercise extreme caution, as we know how dangerous one Predacon can be," Optimus Prime warned.

        “Requesting permission to assist, sir,” Jetstream stated. He had not shown any prior interest in engaging in the Autobots' affairs and mainly stayed at the base with Ratchet and the recuperating Ultra Magnus for the past few days, only now asking to go on a mission.

        Optimus Prime, surprised at the sudden request, thought for a moment. All this time, he had assumed that Jetstream simply hid in the base for shelter from the Decepticons. Optimus Prime held concerns of possible dangers, for one Predacon, namely the Predaking, had been more than a challenge for the Autobots, even before he had shown the ability to transform. Adding one more unknown complicated things. “Are you sure, Jetstream?”

        “Aye, sir. I ensure that I can handle myself,” Jetstream said with certainty.

        Ultra Magnus, wary that Jetstream might betray them, butted in. “I would also like to come along, sir. I have recovered enough to put up more than a fight.”

        Ratchet put, “Ultra Magnus is cleared for duty, and I wouldn’t mind getting Jetstream out of the base for once.”

        Optimus consented, “Very well. Both of you prepare for deployment.” He then addressed the entire team. “We will split into two teams and attack the Predacons, interrupting their operations and putting a stop to their plans.”

        As the Autobots and Jetstream made last-minute preparations before deployment, Ultra Magnus pulled the navy flyer aside. “Listen here because I’m only going to say this once. Don’t even think about doing anything out of protocol…” Magnus clenched his fist in front of Jetstream’s face to accentuate the point he was about to make. “…because I will make sure to stop you and whatever the Decepticons plan, and there are plenty of others to help me if I can't.”

        Jetstream only responded with, “Aye, sir,” and resumed his self-appointed tasks. The enigmatic, faceless black visor only made it harder for Magnus to scrutinize Jetstream’s thoughts.

        Shortly afterward, as soon as everyone was ready for deployment, Optimus Prime almost gave the order, “Autobots, roll out,” but stopped awkwardly at “Autobots” after realizing that Jetstream was joining them. He paused to reword his command.

        Remembering Optimus’s trademark order, Jetstream piped up, “ ‘Autobots, roll out’ is fine, sir.”

        “…Roll out…” Optimus half-muttered as the first team exited through the portal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        As Jetstream stepped through the ground bridge portal, he surveyed his surroundings. The air held a marked coolness, even though the sun still shone in the west. Various nocturnal insects chirped as an unexpected warm swell rushed through from the south and birds settled in the nests.

        It felt good to be out again, even if for a little while. And with loud Autobot Wreckers.

        “Let’s get a move on, flyboy,” the wide green Wrecker called Bulkhead addressed Jetstream with slight antagonism. Even though Jetstream stood a head taller than the Autobot, the Wrecker possessed a wide frame and thick arms especially fit for pounding, which, if nothing else, gave Bulkhead intimidation rights.

        Not wanting to be on the receiving end of Bulkhead’s fists, Jetstream cut his sight-seeing short and hurried to join Ultra Magnus and the two Wreckers. Jetstream guessed that Magnus had arranged his group to be able to capture Jetstream, should he have chosen to double-cross the Autobots during the mission. Even if he were to transform into his Avian Mode, he would be boxed in with barely any room to maneuver and would make an easy target to smack down to the ground.

        While they walked, Jetstream opened his chest cavity and released several Buggers into the air.

        Hearing the sound of Jetstream's chest plates shifting, Ultra Magnus looked back and asked with an edge in his voice, "What was that?"

        “You’ll see,” Jetstream said simply.

        Annoyed by Jet’s obscurity, Commander Magnus said, “Jetstream, in order for us to trust you, we need to know what you’re doing.”

        Seeing the clear point that the commander made, Jetstream relented. “Observation for weaknesses, capacities, and offensive abilities,” he stated scientifically.

        “Of us or the ‘Cons?” Wheeljack asked warily.

        Appalled at the continued suspicions, Jetstream replied indignantly, “Predacons, sir.” They continued walking in silence. “If I wanted everyone dead, I would have stabbed everyone in their power-downs by now,” Jetstream said suddenly.

        “Nice to know…” Bulkhead responded, not understanding the premise under Jetstream’s statement. Giving up on trying to reassure the Autobots, Jetstream fell silent until one of his Buggers pinged him.

        “What was that?” Wheeljack inquired.

        “Team one has reached its destination,” Jetstream noted. He attached a device on either of his audio receptors and pressed a button, encasing his visor in a holographic screen.

        “What are you doing?” Magnus asked the question this time.

        “Monitoring.”

        “Could you pay attention to where you’re going?” Bulkhead tapped Jetstream on the shoulder guard.

        “Aye, sir," Jet muttered as he closed the live video feed. If they kept strolling at this rate, he would never get to see the Predacons in person and all of his planning up until this point would go to waste.

        Wheeljack could not help but sympathize a little for the ex-'Con. First time out of the base in a long while only to have the Wreckers box him in like a criminal. Wheeljack did not doubt that Jetstream had probably done disreputable things in the past, but Wheeljack did see that he would have lost his patience a long time ago, had he been in the same position. He marveled at the flyer's lack of complaint.

        Soon enough, the group of four heard the crashes of living metal indicative of fighting. Ultra Magnus gave the signal to find cover, and the four of them split up. Jetstream almost ran over to a large fallen tree, but someone grabbed him by the wing and pulled him to a position further from the action.

        "You stick with me," Ultra Magnus said firmly. Jetstream simply nodded. Magnus looked around the corner of their cover. Bulkhead had taken shelter behind a large cliff with Wheeljack not too far off. A Predacon kept Optimus's team occupied outside the chemical plant, buying time for its group to finish their task within the gigantic building.

        "Sir, we're coming to your position," Magnus told Optimus over the comm system.

        "No, focus on stopping the other Predacons, Ultra Magnus," Prime ordered.

        Magnus hesitated. He did not want to leave Optimus to fight the 'Con, given the amount of damage he and Wheeljack had received from the last one, but orders were orders. The sound of shifting metal and turning hinges broke Magnus's train of thought. He looked over at Jetstream, who primed his weapons on standby. Jetstream returned Magnus's gaze with a nod. The commander peered into his reflection on Jet's inscrutable black visor. Whatever the mech thought, Magnus certainly could not tell, but Jet's nod seemed to reassure him that everything would turn out fine, regardless of Magnus's decision. "Roger that, sir," Ultra Magnus acknowledged to Prime.

        Magnus then signaled to the Wreckers to circle around the building's premises. He and Jetstream followed suit and arrived at the building's side. "Bulkhead?" Magnus asked as he gestured to the wall that blocked their way in. Within seconds, the green giant had bashed the wall in, and the group made its way through. A low hum resonated within the high-walled narrow corridors.

        "Uh, where are we supposed to be?" Bulkhead asked, but a screech answered his question enough to point out the general direction. The group rushed towards the sound's source, but the lights overhead flickered off as the power failed. Magnus tripped, causing those behind him to fall. Luckily, Jetstream did not rely on light to see and avoided the collision. He looked at the direction of their objective and back at the pile of Wreckers.

        Honor of mutual help agreement or observation of enemies, which could lead to the identification of possible weaknesses? Why did Jet's life have to be so fragging hard?

        Jetstream ran over and lifted Magnus's arm to help him stand. Bulkhead turned his headlights on so the rest of them could see. However, this made no difference to Jetstream, and he simply continued in the Predacons' direction after the group recovered. This time, Bulkhead led point so the others could see. Unfortunately for Jetstream, the others still assumed the "box" formation which he hated.

        "They must've taken out the generators. We'd better get there quick, because something big is happening," Wheeljack noted.

        Suddenly, lasers began flying through the air, hitting Bulkhead's wide chassis, making him come to a halt as the others slammed into him at the unexpected stop.

        _Again?!_ Jetstream thought as he dodged the obstruction and front-flipped over Bulkhead and revved his heat lasers. Unlike the Autobots, he could see their assailants perfectly. The Eradicon drone forces mainly fired at Bulkhead's headlights, but they could not see Jetstream until too late. He decided not to hold back this time and ran to the unknown heat signatures that started to come into view.

        Soon, Jetstream had arrived at the building's had-been generator which had been ripped from all connections. Several Predacons attempted to carry the generator, which brightened the room with its green glow.

        Jetstream messaged one of his Buggers, "Bugger 061: analyze." A holo-screen on Jet's visor appeared and immediately responded with depictions of molecular structures. The sudden lighting distracted the working Predacons, who reacted by abandoning their stations and turning their attention to Jetstream.

        _Scrap._ Jetstream charged his heat lasers and fired, but only managed to piss them off. Their body armor must have been much tougher than the Eradicons he had taken down earlier. He took cover behind a slab of metal as a metal spike shot past his head. The images of molecules minimized as he moved out of view from the generator. He provided covering fire for the Autobots who had just entered the room.

        As Magnus and the others dove into cover, Jetstream finally succeeded in taking one down by supercharging his laser, but the others behind it slowly closed in. Jetstream transformed one of his guns back into a hand, unsheathed his claw, and heated it with his laser. Then, as a Predacon peered around Jet's cover, Jetstream quickly stabbed through its spark chamber. The beast's optics dimmed and its body dropped limply as the hot metal claws sheared through its life-sustaining spark.

        If the four of them did not act fast, the Predacons would soon have their heads. Seeing the Wreckers still trapped behind their cover, Jetstream took it into his hands to help them push forward. He stepped out to aim with his right gun, but ducked his head back as another spike whizzed his way. He looked out carefully again to see the source, a porcupine-like Predacon. He needed a plan to take it out, but the porcupine shot at them from a distance well behind the protection of more melee-oriented Predacons. He would have to defeat them first before heading to the rear of the formation.

        Jetstream heated his left claw once more and charged the gun on his right arm. He leapt and rolled out of cover, shooting at the porcupine and slicing the closest enemy. He did not succeed in hitting the porcupine, but he at least avoided the needles flying at him. As he turned to deal with the next foe, his luck did not hold out.

        A heavy metal chassis flew through the air, hitting Jetstream and knocking him down. A two-headed chimera roared, raising its clawed paw to slice him, but blue bursts of energy hit it before it could slice at him. Jetstream tilted his head back see the Wreckers advancing. The half-cat, half-goat beast sprang off of Jetstream to assault the team of three. Jetstream silently thanked them and turned his attention to the remaining two Predacons.

        While Jetstream fought the remaining two attackers, the Wreckers occupied themselves with the giant beast hurtling towards them at a break-neck pace. They fired at it, but it seemed unaffected. The beast bounded towards the prey that it deemed the weakest: Ultra Magnus.

        The commander could only use the gun on his good arm, since the other had lost its capability to transform into a gun after being crushed. Magnus braced himself for the impact, which pushed him back several meters. The other two Wreckers stopped firing so as not to accidentally shoot their squad leader. Bulkhead ran towards the chimera with his wrecking ball melee weapons and flung the beast against the wall, allowing Magnus to escape its claws.

        Wheeljack unsheathed his two swords and jumped in the air, getting ready to slash at the Predacon, but it recovered just in time to dodge. It circled around, waiting for a weak spot.

        "Nice kitty," Bulkhead addressed it as he slowly drew nearer. Suddenly, he swung his weapon to hit the Predacon. It jumped, leapt onto Bulkhead's arm, and tackled him.

        Wheeljack attempted to come to his friend's aid, but the Predacon's tail whipped at him. A snake-like appendage hissed at him, but he just severed it with his sword. This caught the attention of the other two heads, which lashed out to bite the white Wrecker.

        "Hah! No, you don't," he said tauntingly. He sliced with one of his blades, missing the target but making it jump backwards.

        "Wheeljack, Bulkhead! I'm counting on you to take care of that thing. I'm going to help Jetstream!" Ultra Magnus ordered. _There_ was something that Jet had not expected.

        "Will do," Bulkhead gave a thumbs-up gesture as Magnus made his way towards Jetstream, who had difficulty managing both the porcupine and a giant lizard that assailed him. While Jet busied himself with battling the lizard, the porcupine shot at him copiously with its never-ending supply of needles. Ultra Magnus tried shooting at the porcupine, but it did not seem affected by regular energy blasts. It growled at him in annoyance for interrupting and turned to focus on Magnus.

        Good. Now all Jet had to worry about was the giant lizard. The beast kept getting too close for comfort with its great claws. Jet wondered how he had managed to stay alive thus far with only a few scratches and needles stuck in his body.

        The lizard reared its front claws, but Jetstream caught them before they landed any blows. Infuriated, the lizard opened its toothy mouth, enough for Jet to see the smaller rows of teeth deep inside its throat. Jet kneed the lizard in the stomach and flipped it over his head.

        Was it trying to eat him? He switched to his heat laser and took only a few shots before the lizard recovered. He leapt further from it to keep his distance as he tried shooting at it with no luck.

        "Bugger 061, analyze," he messaged his Bugger again. This time, the holo-screen scanned the lizard's frame, searching for any weak points. Jetstream tried buying time, but the scanner still yielded zero results. He looked to the others for assistance, but the other Predacons still preoccupied them.

        The lizard sprang up into the air, mouth wide open for the kill. Finally, Jet's visor pinged positive results. The weak point: the mouth.

        _Really? You've got to be kidding._ Jetstream sighed as he charged both of his heat lasers and stood his ground. The lizard only flew closer towards him as he brought his blasters up. Almost at the right angle. Aimed. The lizard came within a meter. Still charging. Half a meter. Primed. Quarter of a meter.

        Fired.

        The beast screamed as the heat melted its mouth and innards. It imploded in a hot mess of energon. Good thing he always wore his visor, or his face would have been absolutely covered. He wiped the goop off of his visor and looked at the others. They had also finished fighting. Jet looked at the generator. Still there.

        "Bugger 061: complete analysis of generator," he told his minion once more. His holo-screen flickered to life as it completed identifying the substances within the generator. He saved the results for later analysis before ordering the rest of his Buggers back to the Spirit. As he waited for orders, Jetstream removed needles that had lodged themselves into his metal exterior.

        "Optimus, we've finished up here in the plant. The generator is safe, albeit detached," Ultra Magnus radioed their leader.

        "Understood, we're finished here. Ratchet will open a ground bridge," Optimus notified. Soon, a portal opened up in the former battlefield, and the four of them exited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Good work, everyone. Mission accomplished," Optimus commended everyone.

        "How do we make sure the plant stays safe?" Bulkhead took the question right out of Jetstream's voice box.

        "I'll send forces to guard that plant while we move the site to a less conspicuous location," Fowler replied. "Don't you worry, Prime. You get everyone patched up." Fowler retreated to his office for whatever government business that needed dealing with.

        "Well, looks like you guys had a rough day," Smokescreen commented on the Wreckers' and Jetstream's appearances. Unfortunately, Jetstream could not see anything different about his previous squad members and had to rely on any incoming information to visualize the extent of damage they had received.

        "Yeah. We had seven in a room altogether. Luckily, Predaking wasn't there, or it would've been a whole lot worse," Wheeljack joked. Jetstream crossed his arms, stood in a corner, and listened quietly as per usual. It felt... nice to hear the Autobots banter.

        "You should've seen the Predacon that attacked us! It was a huge bird-lizard thing..." As Smokescreen narrated, he caught a glimpse of Jetstream in the corner and asked, "And what happened to you?! I'd like to know. You're a mess!" Smokescreen chortled. Jetstream must have looked ridiculously off, given the Autobot's tone. He could not help but shrink back and droop his wings a little. He hated attention. He honestly could not think of a response, so he just stood there awkwardly.

        Bulkhead filled in Jetstream's silence with his own account. "While Jackie, Magnus, and I were tripping in the hallways, Jetstream held down the fort. He took out four Predacons single-handedly."

        The Autobots looked at him with surprise. Jet guessed they had not thought of him as much of a fighter. Smokescreen whistled. "I'm impressed!"

        Embarrassed, Jetstream looked down at his feet and muttered, "Thanks."

        Magnus stepped closer to Jet with an intense look. "In fact, I've never seen a performance such as yours." He narrowed his eyes. "How could you see the enemy when we couldn't? What is it that you're not telling us?" Once again, the inscrutable black reflection of Magnus's hardened face looked back at him in obscurity.

        A silence filled the room. The awkwardness grew until Smokescreen thankfully interceded. "Hey, the fighting's over. Take it easy!" Then, he realized that he had just spoken to a higher-ranking officer, he added, "Uh, sir."

        Optimus agreed, "Smokescreen is right. Jetstream has played more than his part in this mission. He deserves a rest, and it is only fair that we treat him with respect."

        "Next!" Ratchet yelled for the next mech to be fixed up. Jetstream, showing no outward response, internally relaxed, his tension coils loosening. He waited for everyone, including Ultra Magnus, to see Ratchet before walking up to the medic. Though Ratchet could not see Jet's face, Jet tilted his head in quizzically in Magnus's direction.

        "Eh, don't worry about it," Ratchet said ambiguously, but it was enough for Jet to be satisfied.

        After Ratchet had finished with the repairs, Jetstream commented, "Much appreciated," before walking away to analyze the generator data his Bugger had gathered alone. Unbeknownst to the Autobots, a huge, wide grin spread across Jet's face.


End file.
